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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
News by Topic: Health workforce supply and demand

Jun 16, 2026 - Discusses dental workforce shortages across Pennsylvania and highlights the impact on access when a provider retires. Describes initiatives at 2 Pennsylvania universities to train dental students in regional centers and clinics as a strategy to increase the rural dental workforce. Notes these initiatives are incorporated into the state's Rural Health Transformation Program plan.
Source: Spotlight PA
Jun 15, 2026 - Describes a new website highlighting the services offered by the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences related to rural healthcare, education, and social safety net programs. Discusses how those programs increase access to healthcare, improve maternal and infant health, support the healthcare workforce, and make use of community health workers.
Source: UAMS News
Jun 15, 2026 - Describes the work of a university in rural Virginia to address healthcare access through mobile clinics and increasing the size of the nursing workforce.
Source: WDBJ
Jun 11, 2026 - The University of Montana's new physician associate program will begin this fall. The program aims to address workforce shortages across the state, particularly for rural areas.
Source: University of Montana News
Jun 10, 2026 - Describes a collaborative program between 3 University of North Carolina institutions allowing cohorts of students from different healthcare disciplines to learn about and address rural health issues. Notes the program's impact on increasing the rural healthcare workforce.
Source: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill News
Jun 3, 2026 - A new philanthropic donation to the University of Washington School of Medicine Medical Student Education Program will create new scholarships and student support programs to increase primary care physicians in rural and tribal Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho.
Source: UW Medicine Newsroom
Jun 2, 2026 - A new program in Hawaii offers free medical school in exchange for practicing in a rural Hawaiian community for 5 years. Describes the physician shortages in Hawaii and profiles some of the students already participating in the program, which is funded through the state's Rural Health Transformation Program.
Source: Honolulu Civil Beat
May 31, 2026 - Describes the importance of rural healthcare access for an aging population and healthcare workforce shortages in New York.
Source: Spectrum News 1
May 28, 2026 - East Carolina University has added a rural residency track for their internal medicine, general surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, and pediatrics graduate medical education programs. The goal is to increase access to healthcare in rural North Carolina communities.
Source: WITN
May 27, 2026 - Analyzes Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) nursing home data to compare rural and urban staffing and health inspection ratings in Texas.
Source: The Daily Yonder